GEE v. ALLEN et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION
DAMON T. GEE, 	)
)
Plaintiff, 	)
)
v. 	) 	No. 1:25-cv-01594-JPH-KMB
)
TRENT ALLEN Warden, 	)
CHARLIE FOX Deputy Warden, 	)
W. CALLAHAN Maintenance, 	)
JEREMY ALBERSON Maintenance, 	)
ANDY BAGIENSKI Safety Managment, 	)
CHRISTINA WRIGHT Accountant, 	)
MARIE LOYD Medical, 	)
A. WILSON Medical, 	)
V. STANLEY Maintenance, 	)
)
Defendants. 	)
ORDER SCREENING AMENDED COMPLAINT AND DIRECTING FURTHER
PROCEEDINGS
Plaintiff Damon Gee is a prisoner currently incarcerated at Pendleton
Correctional Facility ("Pendleton"). He filed this civil action alleging he has been
exposed to the Legionella pathogen at Pendleton. After screening the original
complaint but before any defendants appeared and answered, Mr. Gee filed a
motion for leave to amend his complaint. That motion is GRANTED as a matter
of course under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1). Dkt. [20]. The clerk is directed to docket
the filing at dkt. [20-1] as the operative complaint in this action. Because the
plaintiff is a "prisoner," this Court must screen the amended complaint before
service on the defendants. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a), (c).
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I. Screening Standard
When screening a complaint, the Court must dismiss any portion that is
frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, or seeks monetary relief
against a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b). To
determine whether the complaint states a claim, the Court applies the same
standard as when addressing a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6). See Schillinger v. Kiley, 954 F.3d 990, 993 (7th Cir. 2020).
Under that standard, a complaint must include "enough facts to state a claim to
relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570
(2007). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content
that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable
for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). The
Court construes pro se complaints liberally and holds them to a "less stringent
standard than pleadings drafted by lawyers." Cesal v. Moats, 851 F.3d 714, 720
(7th Cir. 2017).
II. The Complaint
The Court accepts Mr. Gee's factual allegations as true at the pleading
stage but not his legal conclusions. See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 ("we must take all
of the factual allegations in the complaint as true," but "we 'are not bound to
accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation'") (quoting
Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555)). The amended complaint lists as defendants (1)
Warden Trent Allen; (2) Deputy Warden Charlie Fox; (3) Maintenance Supervisor
William Callahan; (4) Maintenance Staff Member Jeremy Alberson; (5) Safety
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Hazard Manager Andy Bagienski; (6) Accountant Christina Wright; (7) medical
staffer Marie Lloyd; (8) medical staffer A. Wilson; (9) Physical Plant Director
Vincent Stanley; (10) Centurion Health of Indiana, LLC; (11) Deputy Warden A.
Cole; and (12) Health Services Administrator ("HSA") Lisa Hamblen. Mr. Gee is
seeking damages and injunctive relief.
The underlying basis of Mr. Gee's amended complaint is identical to that
in the original complaint: (1) that the original State Defendants (Warden Allen,
Deputy 	Warden 	Fox, 	Maintenance 	Supervisor 	Callahan, 	Maintenance 	Staff
Member Alberson, Safety Hazard Manager Bagienski, Ms. Wright) and the newly-
added State Defendant (Deputy Warden Cole) have had authority over the water
system at Pendleton and have knowingly allowed contamination of the Legionella
pathogen and others, such as H. Pylori, to continue within the water supply for
a number of years; (2) that the original Medical Defendants (Lloyd and Wilson)
and newly-added individual Medical Defendant HSA Hamblen ignored Mr. Gee's
requests for healthcare after being severely sickened by the Pendleton water and
had symptoms consistent with Legionnaires' disease.
Although Mr. Gee states in his amended complaint that the Centurion
Medical Defendants were part of a "water risk management team" at Pendleton,
he does not clearly allege they had any direct control over the Pendleton water
supply. 	Mr. 	Gee 	specifically 	alleges 	that 	the 	"State 	Defendants 	failed 	to
adequately respond to issues in . . . the community water system"' that the "State
Defendants permitted the deterioration of the community water system"; that the
"State Defendants permitted certain showers to become non-functioning"; that
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the "State Defendants failed to maintain or otherwise permitted the draining
system at [Pendleton] to stagnate"; and the "State Defendants' policies, practices,
or customs caused Plaintiff requests to be provided with safe water to be
ignored"; that "State Defendants executed policies, practices, or customs that led
to the failure to provide potable water to Plaintiff"; that "State Defendants faile[d]
to maintain a safe, functioning, and sanitary water system"; and that "State
Defendants 	did 	not 	implement 	adequate 	remedial 	treatment 	procedures 	or
physical corrections to the water system infrastructure." Dkt. 20-1 at 7-9
The amended complaint also states that no later than 2021, the State
Defendants became aware of the contamination of the Pendleton water supply,
but they have failed to conduct adequate testing of the water supply or maintain
its infrastructure. Although Pendleton staff have told inmates that the water
there is safe to drink, drinking fountains have been removed from several cell
houses. Also, shower filters that have been put in place, which are intended to
last for only 30 days, are often removed by other inmates and not replaced for
months 	at 	a 	time. 	The 	shower 	water 	temperature 	is 	ideal 	for 	Legionella
proliferation, and inmates are not provided adequate disinfection materials or
protection from Legionella. Regarding Centurion, Mr. Gee alleges it enacted a
policy of not testing inmates for Legionnaires' disease, which led to inadequate
medical care for it. He also alleges "Centurion Defendants were deliberately
indifferent to Plaintiff's serious medical needs when, inter alia, they refused to
provide testing and adequate medical treatment for Plaintiff, when Plaintiff
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suffered from symptoms or diseased associated with Legionella exposure." Id. at
11.
III. Discussion of Claims
Although a plaintiff need not plead legal theories in a complaint, see Fed.
R. Civ. P. 8(a), Mr. Gee has identified the theories he wishes to use—Eighth
Amendment 	conditions 	of 	confinement, 	Eighth 	Amendment 	deliberate
indifference, and state law negligence. Where a pro se litigant has expressly
stated the legal theories he wishes to pursue, the district court is not required to
analyze whether the allegations in the complaint might state a claim under a
different legal theory. See Larry v. Goldsmith, 799 F. App'x 413, 416 (7th Cir.
2016) (citing Clancy v. Office of Foreign Assets Control of U.S. Dep't of Treasury,
559 F.3d 595, 606-07 (7th Cir. 2009)). Thus, the Court analyzes Mr. Gee's claims
only under the theories he has identified.
Applying 	the 	screening 	standard 	to 	the 	factual 	allegations 	in 	the
complaint, certain claims are dismissed while other claims shall proceed as
submitted.
First, Mr. Gee does not expressly seek injunctive relief in his amended
complaint, nor does he invoke the Safe Drinking Water Act ("SDWA") in it. Mr.
Gee had stated claims under the SDWA in the original complaint and the Court
allowed a claim for injunctive relief under it to proceed against Warden Allen in
his official capacity. Dkt. 15 at 4-5. However, it appears that Mr. Gee has now
abandoned any SDWA claims, so they are dismissed.
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Second, although Mr. Gee alleges the individual Centurion Defendants
were part of the Pendleton "water risk management team," the allegations in the
amended complaint are that the State Defendants were the ones responsible for
upkeep of the Pendleton water system and for the resulting Legionella
contamination in that system. Any Eighth Amendment conditions of
confinement claims against the Centurion defendants are dismissed.
Colbert v. City of Chicago, 851 F.3d 649, 657 (7th Cir. 2017) ("[I]ndividual
liability under § 1983 . . . requires personal involvement in the alleged
constitutional deprivation.").
Eighth Amendment medical deliberate indifference and state law
negligence claims shall proceed against medical staffer Marie Lloyd, medical
staffer A. Wilson, Centurion Health of Indiana, LLC, and HSA Lisa Hamblen.
Claims also shall proceed against Centurion under the under the theory
recognized in Monell v. v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978) and for state
law negligence. As identified in the original complaint, Eighth Amendment
conditions of confinement claims shall continue to proceed against State
Defendants Warden Allen, Deputy Warden Fox, Maintenance
Supervisor Callahan, Maintenance Staff Member Alberson, Safety
Hazard Manager Bagienski, Ms. Wright, and also shall now proceed
against newly-added defendant Deputy Warden Cole.
This summary of claims includes all of the viable claims identified by the
Court. All other claims have been dismissed.
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IV. Conclusion and Service of Process
Mr. Gee's motion for leave to file an amended complaint is GRANTED. Dkt.
[20]. The clerk is directed to docket the filing at dkt. [20-1] as the amended
complaint.
The clerk is directed to add Deputy Warden A. Cole, Centurion Health of
Indiana, LLC, and Lisa Hamblen as defendants on the docket.
The clerk is directed pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(3) to issue process
to defendants Deputy Warden Cole, Centurion, and Lisa Hamblen in the manner
specified by Rule 4(d). Process shall consist of the amended complaint filed on
March 17, 2026, dkt. [20-1], applicable forms (Notice of Lawsuit and Request for
Waiver of Service of Summons and Waiver of Service of Summons), and this
Order.
Defendant Hamblen is identified as an employee of Centurion. Centurion
is ORDERED to provide the full name and last known home address of this
defendant if she does not waive service if they have such information. This
information shall be filed ex parte.
The clerk is directed to serve Deputy Warden Cole, Centurion, and Ms.
Hamblen electronically.
The previously-named Defendants may join in any answers filed by the
newly-named Defendants.
Nothing in this Order prohibits the filing of a proper motion pursuant to
Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
SO ORDERED.
Date: 5/11/2026
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Distribution:
Electronic service to Indiana Department of Correction:
Deputy Warden A. Cole
(At Pendleton Correctional Facility)
Electronic service to Centurion:
Centurion
Lisa Hamblen
All ECF-registered counsel of record via email
DAMON T. GEE
981951
PENDLETON - CF
PENDLETON CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
Electronic Service Participant – Court Only
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